Trump prepares plan to close border to Central American migrants and deploy troops

Trump prepares plan to close border to Central American migrants and deploy troops

Fixated on the migrant caravan moving north through Mexico, President Trump is weighing a plan to shut the U.S. border to Central Americans and deny them the opportunity to seek asylum, asserting similar emergency powers used during the travel ban first issued in early 2017, according to administration officials and other people familiar with the proposal.

The White House is also preparing to deploy as many as 1,000 additional U.S. troops to assist in security operations at the border in anticipation of the caravan’s arrival, officials said.

Under U.S. law, foreign nationals fleeing persecution have the right to apply for asylum once they reach American soil, but the executive order under consideration would suspend that provision and bar Central Americans as a matter of national security, according to those familiar with the proposal.

Such a move would probably trigger immediate challenges in U.S. courts….